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Convenience Center Workers To Be Drug Tested: Gannon

Cannon County Executive Mike Gannon said Tuesday that county employees who work at the Cannon County Convenience Center will soon be required to pass periodic drug screens.

The move comes in the wake of two incidents which occurred last week at the convenience center involving inmates from the Cannon County Jail.

The sheriff's department provides inmate labor to the convenience center so that it can stay open more hours each week without the county having to hire additional employees.

However, the inmates are supposed to be closely supervised by convenience center employees while they are working.

Gannon admits that supervision was lacking when the incidents of last week occurred, and said that Sheriff Darrell Young did the right thing by stopping inmates from working at the facility.

"I don't blame him for pulling them for the time being," Gannon said.

Sheriff Young has arranged for convenience center employees to take a 40-hour basic training class on inmate supervision through the State of Tennessee. Once they have completed the training, inmates will once again be allowed to work at the center.

"The dump is never open without a county worker being there," Gannon said. "There was one there last week when these incidents occurred," but they were inside the building while they should have been out watching the inmates."

Gannon said he believes the use of inmate labor is a benefit to the community because it allows the convenience center to stay open for 60 hours a week instead of 40 without adding any employees to the county payroll.

"We never let anyone who could be considered a dangerous inmate work at the dump or anywhere else in the community.," Gannon said. "We have had a few problems with inmates there (convenience center) over the years but nothing major."

As part of the more rigorous supervision efforts, Gannon said convenience center workers will be subjected to drug testing.

"I will be the first one to take a drug test because I don't want to ask my employees to do something that I am not willing to do," Gannon said. "However, if deputies are subjected to drugs tests, then anyone who regularly works with inmates should be as well."

Rather than working yourself into a tissy again dailyreader, you might consider letting the situation play itself out and seeing how the new steps to better the supervision of inmates works out over the coming weeks.

I think it would be a great idea if ALL county employees were drug tested. Employees of the private sector are drug tested randomly and most are not in the public eye. The sheriif's office does random drug testing, get on board.

This situation is just an accident wating to happen when you mix inmates with the public no matter if they are non-violent or violent. Inmates should be worked I will go along with that but not where they are involved with the public. The drug testing will not work because are you going to test them every day? Their friends or buddys can bring them drugs or weapons each day they are working. You are giving inmates more rights than a county worker as a county worker would have been fired on the spot if they had been found with drugs in their possession. Also the taxpayers will have to pay for the cost of the drug testing. How much is that going to cost the county? You could put Wyatt Earp to supervise them and they could still could get hold of drugs or a weapon as you can't watch someone every minute of the day. Work them but not with direct contact with the public. This is not a hard thing to do.

Kevin you said you liked to read daily & dmm49's posts because you learn something.The only thing that we learn reading these two twins is that both have nothing but stupid things to say.One is a buttinski, meddlesome, arrogant, hateful old dust bag (dailyreader) and the other is his long lost twin brother. What could you possibly get out of reading either one of them?I think they both belong in the garbage dump and need to be drug tested for schizophrenia drugs.Darrell and Mike took care of the issue, now why don’t you two go volunteer to supervise some other article.

“However, the inmates are supposed to be closely supervised by convenience center employees while they are working.”

Are the convenience center employees qualified to supervise inmates? I too think it is a good thing to put the inmates to work, but letting the general public supervise them sounds like a bad idea. I would think that inmates should be supervised by a member of law enforcement.

Are convenience center workers going to get raise in pay now that county is going to make them have two jobs in one.It says they will become inmate supervisor and looks like more work added to their job therefore they deserve more pay or refuse the 40 hour training.County workers need raise in pay and are behind now.

The idiocy of some of your comments never ceases to amaze me dmm49, but despite the objection of some other site members I will continue to permit you to state them. Convenience center employees have been supervising inmate workers for at least 10 years. The only difference now is they will have certified training.

They have the right also to refuse 40 hour training.And the old game of county does not have funds to pay for certain county raises and projects does not fly. What was their excuse when county had the funds they still said no.If it took county 10 years to see they messed up and they stll can not see this is wrong to let inmates to mix with public no one can watch every move with that many people going in and out.

It seems to me that inmate assistance at the place reduces the work load of the paid employees. If this is in fact not the case and inmate assistance somehow placed an additional burden on them then the inmate labor should not be provided at all. After all,we don't want to overwork these poor folks.

Many of these opinions are valid arguments and worthy of reading and consideration. The rest show ignorance and or are immature garbage. A total waist of time and energy for all and are good examples of why the posting of opinions should be stopped.

I enjoy most postings and would like to see them remain. Possibly Kevin you could refuse opinions that lend nothing to the debate at hand (like this one) or at least those that offer nothing but belittlement to others. Censorship is a terrible thing but to demand courtesy and respect to all is not a outlandish request.

We all have the right to speak our opinions. Corey, I don't understand why you let dailyreader and dmm49 get to you. That is what they want, to stir up controversy. If you ignore them they won't get the fun of seeing you irritated.

To be honest, they don't "get to me" in the way that most people think. I do consider the sources and I do consider the lack of civility, common sense and general lack of knowledge that both of them bring to a discussion.

However, I think what bothers me is the lack of solutions. The constant drive to complain and never get involved or roll up their sleeves and contribute. I have said it before, solutions require effort. And based on their writings, neither one of them is ever going to actually do anything but complain.

However, I have resolved to let them roll on with their banter because they will prove to the readers time and again what they are truly about without me reminding everyone of the obvious.

I gave you a opinion you do not need inmates working at the dump .Just a matter of time to a weapon is brought back to the jail good inmate or bad this another open door with traffic in and out no one can see every move that they make.And county is now going to fire county worker at the dump if a inmate does something wrong when it is the inmates and their buddies bringing in weapons and drugs.Even after training and drug testing county worker this will not solve problem.The solution is do not work inmates at the dump.

That is your opinion dmm49 not a solution. A solution is to take care of the problem, not create another one in the process. Using your logic is like saying I have a pimple on my nose so to get rid of it I am going to cut my nose off. Great logic!

How do you take care of the problem and get the same results? You do that by supervision and a security check of the inmates before they go back into the jail. Then you solve both problems and you get work done that is needed at no cost to the county.

I don’t believe those orange suits have pockets, so finding contraband wouldn't be that hard. And this is ONE incident in over 10 years of the inmates working at the garbage dump. To me that was a pretty good track record and a whole lot of free work that we received. Instead, we cut our nose off to prove that the "pen is mightier than the sword" as you put it.

I am cool with it. The Sheriff made the call and I respect his decision. I just hope it is pouring down rain the next time all of those who called in and “wore his phone out” have to get out and dump their own garbage. I will just keep on singing, although you might want to cover your ears.

Corey, the untold story is that there have been problems previous to these incidents at the convenience center. I have empathy for both the county executive and the sheriff with respect to this situation, but if I am forced to side with one over the other it would be with the sheriff, because the operation of the convenience center does not fall under his domain, and his staffing situation is such that he does not possess the manpower the supervise inmates working there. He has been caught between the rock and the hard place.

when they get put in jail let them stay in the cell till its time to get out. that may make them think twice befor they get back in trouble the next time just because they where bored. if its that boring then get a job and a life and grow up and stay out of trouble people!